BILL NUMBER: AB 1711	CHAPTERED  03/28/00

	CHAPTER   6
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   MARCH 28, 2000
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   MARCH 28, 2000
	PASSED THE SENATE   MARCH 16, 2000
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   MARCH 16, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   FEBRUARY 29, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   FEBRUARY 7, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Leach

                        JANUARY 3, 2000

   An act to amend Section 2216.2 of the Business and Professions
Code, and to amend Sections 24533, 24534, 24535, and 24537 of the
Health and Safety Code, relating to consumer protection, and
declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1711, Leach.   Consumer protection.
   (1) Existing law, the Bunk Bed Safety Act of 1999, prohibits on or
after January 1, 2000, any commercial user, as defined, from
remanufacturing, retrofitting, selling, contracting to sell or
resell, leasing, subletting, or otherwise placing in the stream of
commerce in this state a bunk bed that is unsafe for any child user,
except as specified.  The act provides that a bunk bed is presumed to
be unsafe for these purposes if it does not conform to the American
Society for Testing Materials Voluntary Standard Consumer Safety
Specification for Bunk Beds, F1427-96, with specified modifications.

   This bill instead would apply that prohibition on or after June
19, 2000, and would make related changes.  The bill would provide
that a bunk bed is presumed to be unsafe if it does not conform to
federal laws, rules, or regulations relative to safety standards for
bunk beds.
   (2) The Cosmetic and Outpatient Surgery Patient Protection Act
provides that a physician and surgeon who fails to provide adequate
security by liability insurance or by participation in an
interindemnity trust for claims by patients arising out of surgical
procedures performed outside of a general acute care hospital is
guilty of unprofessional conduct.  Existing law lists the providers
of acceptable security.
   This bill would add to that list an insurer licensed to transact
liability insurance in at least one state of the United States.
   (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 2216.2 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   2216.2.  (a) It is unprofessional conduct for a physician and
surgeon to fail to provide adequate security by liability insurance,
or by participation in an interindemnity trust, for claims by
patients arising out of surgical procedures performed outside of a
general acute care hospital as defined in subdivision (a) of Section
1250 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (b) For purposes of this section, the board shall determine what
constitutes adequate security.
   (c) Nothing in this section shall require an insurer admitted to
transact liability insurance in this state to provide coverage to a
physician and surgeon.
   (d) The security required by this section shall be acceptable only
if provided by any one of the following:
   (1) An insurer admitted pursuant to Section 700 of the Insurance
Code to transact liability insurance in this state.
   (2) An insurer that appears on the list of eligible surplus line
insurers pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 1765.1 of the
Insurance Code.
   (3) A cooperative corporation authorized by Section 1280.7 of the
Insurance Code.
   (4) An insurer licensed to transact liability insurance in at
least one state of the United States.
  SEC. 2.  Section 24533 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   24533.  (a) No commercial user shall sell, on or after June 19,
2000, a bunk bed that is unsafe for any child using the bunk bed.
   (b) A bunk bed is presumed to be unsafe for the purposes of this
section if it does not conform to federal laws, rules, or regulations
relative to safety standards for bunk beds.
  SEC. 3.  Section 24534 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   24534.  Any commercial user who willfully and knowingly violates
Section 24533 is guilty of an infraction and shall be punished by a
fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000).
  SEC. 4.  Section 24535 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   24535.  Any person may maintain an action against any commercial
user who violates Section 24533 to enjoin the sale of a bunk bed that
is unsafe for any child using the bunk bed, and for reasonable
attorney's fees and costs.  This section shall not apply to hotels,
motels, or similar transient lodging until July 1, 2003.
  SEC. 5.  Section 24537 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   24537.  This chapter does not apply to any bunk bed that was
manufactured prior to June 19, 2000, if the sale of the bunk bed is
accompanied by a disclosure statement attached in a conspicuous place
on the bunk bed that states the following:  "This bunk bed does not
conform to the Bunk Bed Safety Act of 1999.  Exercise caution before
you select this product."
  SEC. 6.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect.  The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to ensure the protection of consumers at the earliest
point in time, it is necessary that this act go into immediate
effect.
